California hit another one-day high for new COVID-19 infections Sunday, and as case numbers continue to rise, health officials say now is the time to stop transmission before it goes any further.
Throughout the pandemic, many people have built a "bubble," or a small group of people that only see each other. But with California's new stay-at-home order going into effect in many Bay Area counties, officials believe it is time to stop seeing everyone, even those in your bubble.
Residents had mixed reactions to this messaging, some said they will stop seeing people who live outside of their household even if they have previously been in the same bubble. Others said the new rules are "over the top."
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UCSF Professor of Epidemiology Dr. George Rutherford told KCBS Radio the orders are strict for a reason.
"It's an emergency brake to sort of stop transmission here," he said, adding these strict no mixing policies will help to cease new infections, and then "we'll start up again" with less restrictive guidelines.
The new restrictions prohibit mixing of people from different households, and force many businesses to close or alter operations.
Dr. Rutherford pointed out that the temporary restrictions are "not the end of the world." He emphasized that we're in a "hard shutdown period, where we're going to try to get this way back under control again."
The restrictions going into effect late Sunday in some Bay Area counties will last until at least January 4.
